The saying "enough ants can bite an elephant to death" comes with a condition—
That is, the number of ants must reach a threshold where even an elephant cannot withstand them.
Similarly, if these Seaborns wanted to overwhelm him, theoretically, they might have a non-zero chance of succeeding.
But only if their numbers were truly endless.
After all, while his sword draws didn't consume his HP, they did wear down his wrist endurance. If he overdid it, he might just end up like someone with severe tendonitis—his hands locking up at the worst possible moment.
That said, the Seaborns hadn't reached a number that could threaten him, and more importantly—
Steven wasn't as simple as he seemed.
He hadn't activated any commands.
He hadn't enabled any mods besides the SlashBlade Mod.
If anything, he was still just warming up.
But while his warm-up had ended, the Seaborns—who had moments ago flooded the underground river like an unstoppable tide—were almost all dead.
As Steven racked up an absurd number of points, he also noticed something else—
Each time a Seaborn died, the bright blue Nethersea Brand rapidly absorbed their bodies, channeling their essence into the pulsating mass of flesh at the center.
It was like a textbook boss fight progression—
Clearing out the minions before the next phase begins.
Steven had no issue following along with the script.
He was genuinely curious to see what kind of Church of the Deep bio-creation would hatch from this thing.
At the very least, it had to be better than that pathetic Collapsal.
It wasn't that Steven looked down on the Church of the Deep's creations, but so far, aside from sheer numbers, they were completely useless.
Even the Collapsal had a domain ability.
But these Seaborns?
What did they have? A numbers strategy?
That doesn't work on me.
Finally, after Steven cut down the last of the desperate, kamikaze-like Seaborns, the flesh mass—now fully infused with Nethersea Brand—stopped pulsating.
A heavy, oppressive aura began emanating from its core.
Steven, intrigued, casually stabbed his sword into the ground and pulled out a classic street-side folding chair, then he sat down right in front of the pulsating mass.
"This boss transition is kinda slow, huh?"
Did it not consider the possibility that someone might attack it mid-transformation?
Or was it so confident that its transition sequence was invincible?
Ah, the classic "CG invincibility" strategy.
Fine.
Steven wasn't the type to rudely interrupt a boss's dramatic entrance.
He was curious about what kind of abomination would hatch from this Church of the Deep's "masterpiece."
And the flesh mass didn't disappoint.
After one final, intense contraction, a dense, suffocating pressure erupted from the center.
Chunks of decayed flesh fell away, revealing a grotesque hybrid of a mantis shrimp and a sea anemone.
But unlike the weaker creatures Steven had just slaughtered, this thing was nearly three stories tall.
Its skin radiated an eerie, pale blue glow, its body standing upright like a human.
And, most importantly, within its sea anemone-like eye, hidden among writhing tendrils, was an unmistakable glint of intelligence.
At the very least, it didn't seem completely brainless.
Only after the creature fully emerged did Steven leisurely stand up from his chair and rest his sword on his shoulder.
And in the very next instant, before Steven could even put away his chair, before he could even see the monster make a single move, a massive shockwave blasted toward him, shattering the plastic chair behind him into pieces.
His short hair was blown backward, sticking to his forehead, forcing him to casually smooth it back into place. With an expressionless face, he looked at the monster—
A creature that had caused such devastation with nothing more than a single glance.
If he hadn't been standing firm, that shockwave alone could have sent him flying—or worse, torn his body apart.
This thing…
It was a bit stronger than he had expected.
But only a bit.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Steven glanced at his health bar, where only one heart had been lost.
Sure, one glare causing this much damage was impressive, but it still didn't quite meet his expectations.
After all, he wasn't even wearing any armor yet.
"You broke my chair," he muttered, shaking his head. "I'll be adding that to your tab."
With that, he leaped straight down into the massive hole left behind by the explosion, plunging into the water below.
Before, he hadn't even bothered coming down here.
But now?
It was a boss fight.
A little respect was in order.
Of course, he had no intention of turning into a drowning mess.
So, he casually equipped a pair of Netherite boots—and the moment he did, a platform of ice formed beneath him, keeping him afloat.
Frost Walker enchantment.
The perfect flex tool.
Calmly, Steven walked toward the massive creature.
With every step, a thin layer of ice formed beneath him, ensuring he never sank into the water.
The monster, towering over him, turned its massive body to face him, its gaze shifting.
For the first time, a hint of hesitation flickered in its eyes.
And then, just like before, another shockwave attack blasted toward Steven.
Then another.
Then another.
But this time, it felt like nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Steven's hair didn't even move.
[The Sparkborne, Echo of We Many]
Now that he was closer, Steven could finally read the creature's name.
He didn't know who came up with this "segmented title" format, but he had to admit, it looked pretty damn cool.
As for the monster's shockwave attacks, he had already figured them out.
They weren't physical forces.
They were pure condensed mental energy.
Devastating for anyone else.
But for him, someone whose mind had been refined beyond reason, It was too weak.
Without hesitation, he strode right up to the creature—
He was ready to slice it into four pieces with three swings.
Of course, there was no way this thing only had one attack method.
Realizing that its mental shockwaves were useless, the monster switched tactics, it raised its lobster-like claws and slammed them down toward Steven.
For a creature of its immense size, its speed was unbelievable.
In a blink, Steven and the ice beneath his feet were completely engulfed by the monster's crushing claw strike.
A massive shockwave erupted outward, sending waves rippling across the underground river.
The thunderous impact alone was enough to make any observer feel like their internal organs were about to rupture.
Yet, the monster showed no sign of joy.
Instead, it immediately raised its claw and swung down again toward Steven's position.
"No matter how much force you use, it's just not enough. Strength is either sufficient or it isn't—there's no tricking yourself about that."
Steven's voice came from beneath the monster's massive pincer.
And then with an effortless, one-handed motion, he stopped the creature's attack in its tracks.
He even let out a lazy yawn.
When it came to raw strength, he felt that very few in this world were even qualified to challenge him.
After all, he was a battle-hardened Minecrafter.
If he could lose in anything, it definitely wouldn't be strength.
For a moment, he had hoped that this thing would have something more to offer besides its mental shockwaves.
But now?
Steven's face showed only disappointment.
If this was all it had, then he had no choice but to give it a failing grade.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he swatted away the creature's other incoming pincer like it was nothing.
Steven wasn't going to give it another chance to fight back.
Feeling bored, he grabbed [Yamato].
A flash of space-tearing sword light cut through the air, and the monster's massive body was severed on the spot.
But then, Steven paused.
For the first time, he actually looked intrigued.
Because, even though his blade should have emptied the creature's health bar, the purple boss HP bar on his screen hadn't moved at all.
His attack… had no effect?
Steven narrowed his eyes and took a closer look at the monster.
And then, he understood why.
The area where [Yamato] had cut wasn't bleeding.
This thing didn't even have internal organs.
Instead, it was a mass of slime-like mucus.
The cut instantly adhered back together as if the creature had never been wounded in the first place.
Because the blade was too sharp, it had sliced through too cleanly, failing to cause any real structural damage, and in that brief moment, the monster had simply reformed itself.
It looked as if it had never been cut at all.
"This thing… was it designed specifically to counter me?"
Steven narrowed his eyes, but a smirk crept onto his lips.
Now this was interesting.
Finally, something that could actually bring him a little fun.
It was, after all, the final trump card of the Church of the Deep's research lab.
It shouldn't be as disappointing as everything else that came before.
"But… I wonder—"
"What's the limit of your evolution and adaptation?"
"Mind if I test it out?"
He sheathed [Yamato] and instead, clenched his fists.
His eyes lit up with anticipation as he stared at the creature before him.
This thing was nothing less than the perfect training dummy.
<+>
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